2024-03-25 07:59
Sunday Telegraph editor, and vehement classical liberal, Allister Heath, writes about the "DEI" movement, which has spread like a cancer around US universities and corporates, in scathing te… Read More
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Liberty Scott Blog
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Blogging on liberty, capitalism, reason, international affairs and foreign policy, from a distinctly libertarian and objectivist perspective
2024-03-08 09:06
The general election has knocked Wellington for six and has put a great deal of public servants and more than a few in the consultancy-industrial complex in a funk, because philosophically a… Read More
2024-03-02 10:33
I do have a shred of sadness if it turns out that TV3 wont have a news service anymore. A shred because it really is a shadow of its former self. It seemed like New Zealand had f… Read More
2024-01-29 01:40
I wrote in my previous post that I am embarking on a journey, thanks to the sagacious commentator and academic, Dr. Mohan Dutta. Although he is unaware of this, I am truly grateful for… Read More
2024-01-14 10:27
Happy New Year everyone. I was hoping for a break over Christmas and New Year, but I was busy. I had a Road to Damascus experience. I’ve been a libertarian for over 25 years, and havin… Read More
2023-12-30 10:30
2023 was a year when New Zealand voters most adamantly said they wanted change. The near personality-cult around Jacinda Ardern had well and truly eroded, as the rhetoric around the governme… Read More
2023-11-12 10:15
I'm frankly astonished at the scale, frequency and anger of protests held in solidarity for Palestinians in Gaza, which variously call for a ceasefire, call for "freedom" for Palestine and w… Read More
2023-10-23 21:45
Who is Natasha Hausdorff?After a law degree at Oxford University and an LL.M. specialising in public international law, Natasha clerked for the President of the Supreme Court of Israel in Je… Read More
2023-10-13 02:57
Before I make my point I unfortunately feel it is important to make a few context points. I’m not a supporter of Netanyahu, I don’t believe in a greater Israel and I do hold the… Read More
2023-10-12 23:07
What's the most tedious element of this year's general election is the complete failure of pretty much all politicians to admit to what they can't do.Child poverty is not and cannot be elimi… Read More
2023-10-11 08:45
For some time now, I've tried to put together an electorate voting guide for those with a libertarian bent. Whether you vote ACT, National or any other party you think will advance more free… Read More
2023-10-08 21:26
The Palestinian Arabs got a raw deal from their leaders in 1948 when their neighbours decided the right response to the UK decolonising the Palestinian mandate by enabling the creation of Is… Read More
2023-10-07 21:22
I’ve been remiss in not offering my opinions on the political parties registered for this general election sooner, but I thought it was about time to do so. I tend to spend a bit… Read More
2023-09-22 02:29
So it’s that time when you get a chance to have a tiny say in what group of politicians pass laws on what you can do, and how to spend a portion of your money, or what to do with your… Read More
2023-08-02 02:53
It’s entirely in keeping with their philosophical bent, for taxpayer funded RNZ to publish as a lead article on its website, a piece by Timothy Welch, senior lecturer in Urban Planning… Read More
2023-07-10 10:39
I LOVE travelling by train, I caught long-distance passenger trains as a child. My father took me on the Northerner in a sleeper to Auckland and back on the Silverfern, I rode the Southerner… Read More
2023-05-14 06:00
I've spent a lot of time thinking about what is simplistically called "trans" issues, but given transgender activists (and their challengers) see it as being a collective of issues, I'll hap… Read More
2023-05-12 05:31
There's been quite a lot of commentary about whether the "rich" are paying their "fair share" of tax, with an inferred moral and philosophical position that what is "fair" is "a lot" and is… Read More
2023-05-09 05:25
Kiwirail has been in the news a lot recently, many due to disappointed about it failing. It includes the breakdown of the single track evaluation car in Wellington (and scheduling of t… Read More
2023-04-02 02:07
From Allister Heath, Editor, Sunday Telegraph:There are two kinds of environmentalism. The first is the one exemplified by conservationists, nature lovers, green technologists, free-market e… Read More
2023-03-14 05:51
It is the biggest foreign and defence policy news in the South Pacific since the end of the Cold War, that is the formation not only of the AUKUS defence alliance, but the agreement for Aust… Read More
2023-03-09 07:45
Imagine relaxing, going about your day and finding two people arriving on your doorstep, one with a clipboard, both wearing green shirts, labelled the Environmental Protection Authority or p… Read More
2023-02-26 06:10
I've been critical of the Labour Government's Three Waters' proposals, primarily because of the bizarre excessive centralisation, the opaque accountability and the lack of any serious measur… Read More
2023-02-19 03:33
Now I'm no fan of Rishi Sunak, the tax raising Chancellor (and now Prime Minister) who has shown next to no interest in embarking on the reforms necessary to raise the UK's economic performa… Read More
2023-02-18 03:37
Let's get something very clear1. Had New Zealand cut emissions like the Green Party/Alliance since 1990, or any other climate change activists wanted, it would have made ze… Read More
2023-02-09 06:12
It was 26 years ago that the Free Radical published an article calling for abolition of the Human Rights Commission (sometimes called the "Human Wrongs Commission" on Radio Liberty at the ti… Read More
2023-02-04 20:00
As a libertarian when a government cuts taxes I am pleased, even ones that are purportedly a user fee, because in fact so much of what is collected from those user fees is not directed to se… Read More
2023-02-03 01:42
It's been over a week, and it's remarkable that Jacinda Ardern has simply disappeared from the politics of a country she exercised almost unprecedented levels of power over, for the previous… Read More
2023-01-16 19:10
"The prince across the water is now the world’s most famous truth bender, but he is far from alone. Last Friday, Trevor Noah, the South African comedian and US television presenter, de… Read More
2023-01-15 06:14
We should be pleased that the Harry/Meghan show has appeared over our Christmas/New Year period, as it leaves space for real news to be covered in due course. The enthusiastic coverage… Read More
2022-12-18 09:27
The Islamic Republic of Iran is an abomination, it is a theocracy that demands absolute obeisance to a collective of men who claim to be channelling the will of God, applying a branch of Isl… Read More
2022-12-05 06:19
What has been the biggest farce of the attempt to entrench an anti-privatisation clause in Three Waters legislation? The attempt by the Greens to entrench their policies in Parliament i… Read More
2022-11-21 08:52
For all of the posing and posturing, most of the arguments to extend (or not extend) the size of the electorate to include 16 and 17yos come with a big tinge of self-interest around power.&n&hell…Read More
2022-11-14 04:07
The so-called "Review into the Future of Local Government"was quite a review.It didn't review whether local government is needed, and if so, what it should and should not do. No, you s… Read More
2022-10-23 09:26
Christopher Snowdon writes how the market response to the Truss/Kwarteng emergency budget showed that the emperor has no clothes, and it is a sign that the era of big borrowing is at an end… Read More
2022-10-18 00:39
So Winston Peters is doing what he usually does, after spending two years in the political wilderness he times a revival to tap the issue of the season, that the other parties aren't doing w… Read More
2022-10-14 01:19
So for several mornings a group calling itself "Restore Passenger Rail" has shut down the southbound lanes of the Wellington Urban Motorway approaching the Terrace Tunnel. This is comp… Read More
2022-10-12 04:33
I accept there is anthropomorphic climate change, and there is going to be an ongoing process of reductions in emissions due to improvements in efficiency and technology. Because New Z… Read More
2022-09-30 22:12
Auckland's leading leftwing Mayoral candidate, Efeso Collins, has as one of his key platforms making public transport "free" at the point of use, by which he means he'll force everyone else… Read More
2022-09-23 07:31
So on Friday the #schoolstrike4climate was held, whereby a bunch of hysterical school children demand that a Government, which is literally obsessed with mitigating climate change (even thou… Read More
2022-09-20 10:07
Academics, journalists and politicians bemoan every three years how little interest there is in the local body elections in New Zealand. The narrative being that if more people voted… Read More
2022-09-17 10:39
I'm no monarchist, but I appreciate that Queen Elizabeth II was handed quite a job, to preside over the dismantling of the British Empire, to reconcile with the new Commonwealth and to be th… Read More
2022-08-24 04:51
I'm fairly convinced that the Cabinet of the Ardern Government is dominated by complete morons when it comes to economics. It is akin to a selection of the candidates that Jim Anderton… Read More
2022-08-04 05:00
Power without being electedWith the impending passage of the Canterbury Regional Council (Ngāi Tahu Representation) Bill, New Zealand will have taken a giant leap in the direction… Read More
2022-05-18 08:38
I quite like elections, I like them being a battle of ideas, of philosophy and of personalities, as they provide the most obvious time to focus on what are the differences between the indivi… Read More
2022-04-20 03:01
David Farrar's Kiwiblog has an excellent submission on this absolute travesty of basic individual rights and liberal democracy.This debate about this issue has been muted. Stuff reports it… Read More
2022-04-15 12:39
Bryce Edwards in the NZ Herald declares that the NZ Government’s “independent foreign policy” is “virtually dead” because the Government has chosen to support U… Read More
2022-03-10 09:30
The crisis in Ukraine and the growing embargo on buying oil and gas from Russia is, of course, creating the greatest crisis in energy since 1979. A crisis over half of the population has nev… Read More
2022-03-07 11:47
The Russia Sanctions Bill is welcome, but one big questions has to be asked. Why only have sanctions that can be applied to Russia including those backing Russia (like Belarus)? Why can… Read More
2022-03-06 11:35
The war on Ukraine and more specifically the war on Ukrainian people is heart-breaking, revolting and has rightfully appalled most governments around the world. The response of many countrie… Read More
The Purpose NATO Exists For Should Be Abundantly Clear - The Future Beyond Ukraine Is A New Cold War
2022-03-03 21:27
During the Cold War, NATO was to the West what the Warsaw Pact was to the communist bloc. Both sides faced off at the Iron Curtain. So when the Cold War ended, and the Warsaw Pact dissolved… Read More
2022-02-28 07:20
The last monumental change in the international system occurred in 1989-1991, with the end of the Cold War, driven by Mikhail Gorbachev's unwillingness to keep a jackboot on the throats of S… Read More
2022-02-14 04:53
I’m of two minds about protests generally. On the one hand freedom of assembly and freedom of speech come together in protest marches, and so they are a key part of a free… Read More
2022-02-03 10:14
The Government's announcement that it has chosen a nearly $15b option to build a single light rail metro line from Wynyard through the Isthmus to Mt Roskill then Mangere and the Airport utte… Read More
2022-01-18 03:16
Arif Ahmed in Unherd writes:Now imagine being a clever, white 18-year old, not at all racist and not at all privileged either, away from home for the first time, in a lecture or class… Read More
2022-01-05 05:00
Given I have been in a summery mood to write, I thought I'd pontificate on NZ political parties for 2022, across their past performance and future prospects.Labour: Labour has "kept us safe"… Read More
2022-01-01 01:56
One of the greatest costs of the Covid19 pandemic has been the absolute shutdown of opportunity for international travel, for New Zealanders. You can be grateful that the pandemic has result… Read More
2021-12-30 00:02
In 1993 Lindsay Perigo resigned from TVNZ as a journalist/presenter declaring its news as "braindead", and a lot has happened in that time. From its one time commanding role claiming "more p… Read More
2021-12-28 03:12
It's an age when there are, in the words of UK economist Kristian Niemetz, "high-status" and "low-status" opinions. The former will get you praise, open doors in circles of media, acad… Read More
2021-12-08 01:06
What to make of this?andThe MP of Waiariki, thinks that to implement the Treaty of Waitangi, Parliament should have 50% representation from Tangata Whenua and 50% representation from T… Read More
2021-11-30 03:23
National almost certainly will lead the next change in Government, so it matters. So what could I hope for from Luxon, Willis and the others?Here's some ideas...A declaration of p… Read More
2021-11-04 02:52
I've already written about what the problem is and what is wrong about the Three Waters proposals and what an alternative could be. So let's be brief here...There is a major problem wi… Read More
2021-10-26 10:41
The passive aggressive militant wing of the Green Party - Extinction Rebellion (XR) - is looking to disrupt Wellington... yes Wellington... in the next few days, to make its latest "point" t… Read More
2021-10-16 01:15
With the NZ Government releasing its draft Emissions Reduction Plan that it intends to present at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, it's worth reviewing what the Government wants to do to us… Read More
2021-10-13 03:28
First let me be clear, I'm in favour of Covid 19 vaccines. Sure, a tiny minority have severe side effects and a small number of people can't take the Pfizer vaccine (and that's importa… Read More
2021-10-05 18:00
Since the death of Chairman Mao, beyond a few moments of tension, the governments of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) (ROC) have, until recently, by an… Read More
2021-10-04 18:00
I’ve already written critically of the Three Waters reforms in a polemical way. It's rather curious that Nanaia Mahuta is so committed to these reforms given she has no record in… Read More
2021-09-30 04:25
I have had three Covid19 tests all up, I had two when coming through managed isolation in 2020 and a third in Australia when departing earlier this year, and they were qualitatively differen… Read More
2021-09-21 10:39
So much to cheer in the new AUKUS alliance. Why?1. It enhances Australia's and the region's defence. It enables Australia, New Zealand's most important ally, to acquire nuclear-powered… Read More
2021-09-11 11:31
I woke up at around 5.40am on 12 September 2001, in Wellington and switched on National Radio (as it was then) to hear a broadcast, with American voices, describing some disaster. At the tim… Read More
2021-09-06 01:18
Ahamed Aathill Mohamed Samsudeen, is the name Jacinda Ardern doesn't want repeated by anyone, which is silly, because if nobody supports him, nobody should fear his name. Samsudeen wanted to… Read More
2021-09-03 05:42
You might have noticed the childlike cartoons the Government has chosen to communicate to you about one of the most radical infrastructure policy reforms proposed for over twenty years &ndas&hell…Read More
2021-08-27 00:07
We all know the story, New Zealand achieved enormous success in isolating itself from Covid 19 in 2020. With a very low death, hospitalisation and infection rate, the Ardern Government was a… Read More
2021-08-26 10:00
We all know the story, New Zealand achieved enormous success in isolating itself from Covid 19 in 2020. With a very low death, hospitalisation and infection rate, the Ardern Government was a… Read More
2021-08-16 04:47
Racism is “growing in temerity” says Race Relations Conciliator Meng Foon in Stuff and it should be dealt with in “all its forms”. Pardon me if I think he doesn… Read More
2021-07-15 19:20
Politicians love transport policy. I used to think it was some throwback for the men who engaged in it, who as boys may have played with model planes, trains, cars or whatever, and per… Read More
2021-07-11 11:36
Jacinda Ardern has demonstrated since the last election that she isn’t a “do nothing” Prime Minister, she wants to be transformative. She has been elevated by the predomina… Read More
2021-07-02 13:37
Having gone through Proposals 1 and 2, I have looked at 3 to 6 and there is more to be concerned about.Proposal Three is simply an increase in penalties to fines of up to $50,000 and up to t… Read More
2021-07-01 12:22
So Proposal One will prohibit publishing, broadcasting or using words in a public place that are threatening, abusive, or insulting to anyone on the grounds of a wide range of factors… Read More
2021-06-30 13:33
As a libertarian my instincts are for the highest levels of freedom of speech. However as with all freedoms its limits lie where they infringe on the rights of others. Libertarians aren&rsqu&hell…Read More
2021-04-06 06:30
The launch of the Te Huia commuter train from Hamilton to Papakura has obtained a lot of publicity today, showing how journalists love an excuse for a train ride, and the lack of any high pr… Read More
2021-02-23 23:01
You could hardly not notice the growing list of scandals seen in local authority supplied water, sewer or stormwater services in recent times and wonder what has gone wrong. From lead… Read More
2021-02-02 00:49
Last week was meant to be a point of triumph for Damien O'Connor as Trade Minister. As a member of the more conservative "right" faction of this Labour Government, he was happy to crow as to… Read More
2020-11-03 09:49
In the song Mrs Robinson Simon and Garfunkel say:Going to the candidates' debateLaugh about it, shout about itWhen you've got to chooseEvery way you look at this you loseThis US election loo… Read More
2020-11-03 01:30
Well I am back in New Zealand, indefinitely, and so I thought I'd reflect on my own political journey, not least because as I've gotten older my expectations have lowered somewhat as to what… Read More
2020-10-15 10:06
Having returned to NZ, I'm amused by the list of registered political parties. So for the hell of it, I thought I'd say some words about the party vote choices in alphabetical order:AC… Read More
2020-10-14 07:21
It wont be surprise to many, but I'm be voting ACT for my party vote. I've been critical of ACT for many years, and until lately, David Seymour was struggling to get recognition and at… Read More
2020-10-13 02:17
As the nation waits in anticipation for the Libertyscott opinion of who you should vote for in electorates, I present the following (and yes, I'll accept any additional information to change… Read More
2020-10-10 09:35
As with previous elections, I think the party vote is often the easier choice, because that is a vote for a party, a set of principles, philosophy and policies. I'll write about the pa… Read More
2020-10-05 02:51
A lot has happened since I last wrote much on this blog. I've moved countries (twice), so I am back in NZ (for a while anyway) and then there is Covid19. So before I discuss the… Read More
2019-12-10 19:39
I've only just moved from the UK to Australia, but I spent 14 years living there and so have been through three general elections, and the EU referendum. The 2019 general election wasn… Read More
2019-10-01 07:22
The People's Republic of China is celebrating 70 years today, but for anyone who believes in the dignity of humanity, any semblance of individual rights and freedom, or even believes that hu… Read More
2019-02-10 19:47
Almost all of UK politics has been about Brexit.Yes, it's all been about Brexit and it all still is. As a believer in free markets and smaller government, I supported Brexit, not so mu… Read More
2018-10-05 10:11
To paraphrase Rod Liddle on BBC Question Time on 27 September 2018:"If you are against Trump then Brett Kavanaugh is a rapist, no trial needed. If you are for Trump then Christine Blas… Read More
2018-04-29 20:43
North Korea watchers are split on what the outcomes of the latest diplomatic activities on the Korean peninsula will mean. There was the usual, tiresome, anti-Trump kneejerk reaction t… Read More
2018-04-19 18:05
Stuff has posted a story by Bevan Woodword who is cited as: the project director for SkyPath and spokesperson for Movement, an alliance of national organisations seeking safe journeys for ac… Read More
2018-04-15 16:40
When a one-party state, led by a dictator, with a personality cult, who inherited his position from his father (who himself gained power by military coup), repeatedly uses chemical weapons a… Read More
2017-11-22 06:03
A bit of context. The two Koreas are divided by the DeMilitarised Zone (DMZ) which is actually one of the most militarised zones anywhere in the world. I've travelled on the roa… Read More
2017-10-30 23:17
Trolley buses are almost iconic for Wellington. Wellington was the city that first had them in New Zealand (1924-1932 on one route, followed by the current system since 1950) and… Read More
2017-10-26 21:34
For the second time in over 20 years of MMP, the left has got, pretty much, what it wanted in a government. This time, a Labour Party led by a complete neophyte (Jacinda has never sat… Read More
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